Bartenders charged after drunk patron allegedly causes fatal accident
Two bartenders have been charged after a drunk patron allegedly caused a fatal accident after leaving the bar.
The US bartenders Shafay Look, 34, and Jon Ward, 56, of the Island Pier Club in Galveston, Texas, were charged with ‘selling an alcoholic beverage to an intoxicated person’.
The customer was a 50-year-old woman named Gerilyn Weberlein, who allegedly crashed her car into two cyclists 15 minutes after leaving the bar in June.
According to The Houston Chronicle, both victims were treated in the emergency room. One suffered a broken arm and cuts, and the other, a 23-year-old man named Marco Beltran, died the next morning.
The bar’s surveillance video showed Ms Look and Mr Ward serving Ms Weberlein despite her spilling drinks, stumbling, and needing the assistance of other customers to stand.
Ms Weberlein was charged with intoxication assault and intoxication manslaughter, according to local news station Fox 26. Ms Look and Mr Ward each face a fine of up to $688 and one year in jail.
The bartenders’ arrest raises the question of whether servers should be held accountable for patrons’ actions after leaving a bar.
An Island Pier Club employee declined to comment to Yahoo Lifestyle, and a spokesperson from the Galveston Police Department did not return Yahoo Lifestyle’s request for comment.
Mr Beltran’s lawyer, Sean O’Rourke, told Yahoo Lifestyle that in Texas, where drinking and driving is a common crime, a statute is in place that requires responsibly serving alcohol.
“Bartenders have a duty to make sure people aren’t over-served, and in this case, police feel they may be able to convict based on the surveillance video,” Mr O’Rourke said.
“If you serve a person who is slurring her speech and stumbling, you’re compounding a dangerous situation.
“Marco’s family in Galveston is happy to see there’s been an effort to look at all the causes that go into how these incidents occur.”
In a 2011 case, an intoxicated man left the Southside Bar & Grill in Texas and died after driving the wrong way down an interstate motorway, colliding with a motorist, according to local outlet My San Antonio.
The accident caused the amputation of the victim’s leg, among other injuries, and the bar was found 75 per cent liable for the crash, paying $3.7 million in damages.
